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WASHINGTON — Democratic convention organizers broke their pledge to put on their quadrennial gathering in Charlotte, N.C., this year without corporate donations, using $5 million from a committee financed by companies such as Bank of America, Duke Energy and AT&T to rent the Time Warner Arena for the three-day event.

The payments, revealed in reports filed Wednesday evening with the Federal Election Commission, came after party officials said they would produce the convention without corporate money, a self-imposed ban set by the Democratic National Committee.

The limits were part of President Obama's vow to curtail the role of big money in politics, a goal he has struggled to meet. He railed against the influence of outside groups in elections, but gave his blessing earlier this year to a "super PAC" supporting his reelection after GOP-allied groups began to spend millions of dollars to defeat him